Whimsical Paper Cut Illustrations by Julene Harrison

Originally trained as a constructed textile designer, British designer and illustrator Julene Harrison merged into the paper-cutting realm after starting the craft through her job and gradually getting commissions from friends and then eventually clientele. Her works primarily consist of whimsical typographic layouts, but this medium also lends itself to portraits and a mix of commercial (editorial, advertising, publishing etc) and private (first anniversaries, weddings and invitations etc) commissions, where she is able to sustain this paper cut art as a career.

In her process, she sources inspiration from blogs as well as art books, but in most cases she lets her imagination do most of the work, which definitely holds true in her pieces. She draws everything on the computer before she prints it onto the reverse of the heavy weight paper that she will cut, using a scalpel.

“The motif the client would like me to include and it will be in the back of my mind while I am working and something will just come to me. Sometimes a commercial client is quite specific about what they are imagining and so it’s my job to realize it for them, while adding my own touches along the way.” – Julene Harrison